COMMITTEE ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL
AND CULTURAL RIGHTS
Thirty-fourth session
25 April - 13 May 2005
CONSIDERATION
OF REPORTS SUBMITTED BY STATES PARTIES
UNDER ARTICLES 16 AND 17 OF THE COVENANT
Concluding
observations of the Committee
on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
NORWAY
The
Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights considered the fourth
periodic report of Norway on the implementation of the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (E/C.12/4/Add.14) at its 14th to 15th meetings, held on 3 and 4 May 2005 (see E/C.12/2005/SR.14-15),
and adopted, at its 27th meeting, held on 13 May 2005, the following
concluding observations.
A. Introduction
The
Committee welcomes the submission of the fourth periodic report of the
State party and the comprehensive written replies to the list of issues.
The Committee also welcomes the frank and constructive dialogue with
the delegation of experts of the State party.
B. Positive
aspects
The Committee appreciates
the State party’s commitment to international cooperation as reflected
in the volume of official development assistance (ODA) standing at 0.92
percent of the gross national income (GNI). The Committee also welcomes
the importance attached to human rights in the State party’s Action
Plan for Combating Poverty in the South towards 2015.
The Committee welcomes
the adoption of the Human Rights Act of 21 May 1999, which incorporated
the Covenant into domestic law stipulating in section 3 that the Covenant
takes precedence over any other legislative provisions that conflict
with it.
The Committee welcomes
the adoption on 26 April 2005 of the Act prohibiting ethnic and religious
discrimination.
The Committee welcomes
policies and measures adopted to strengthen the protection of economic,
social and cultural rights, including within the framework of the 2002
Plan of Action for Combating Poverty and the National Plan of Action
to Combat Racial Discrimination (2002-2006).
The Committee notes
with appreciation the submission to Parliament, on 1 October 2004, of
a new white paper on Norway as a multicultural society, which includes
people with various backgrounds, ethnicities, religions, cultures, languages
and ways of life.
The Committee welcomes
the National Plan of Action against Trafficking (2003-2005) and the
introduction of a specific penal provision on trafficking in human beings,
which entered into force in July 2003, as well as the State party’s
ratification in September 2003 of the United Nations Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
C. Factors
and difficulties impeding the implementation of the Covenant
The
Committee notes the absence of significant factors or difficulties impeding
the effective implementation of the Covenant in the State party.
D. Principal
subjects of concern
The
Committee is concerned about cases of discrimination faced by persons
with immigrant background, particularly in the areas of housing and
work.
The Committee is
concerned about problems faced by persons with immigrant background,
in particular women, in accessing the labour market. The committee notes
in this regard the limited effect of measures taken so far by the State
party to increase the participation of immigrants in the labour market.
The Committee notes
with concern the persistent salary differences between men and women,
despite substantial measures taken to end discrimination against women
in the workplace.
The Committee is
concerned at the high incidence of accidents in the fishing and off-
shore petroleum industries.
The Committee expresses
concern at the high number of children who are removed from their families
and placed in institutions or foster homes in the State party.
The Committee is
concerned that domestic violence is still a widespread problem in the State party
and notes the lack of specific legislation concerning domestic violence.
The Committee is
concerned that the subsistence requirement imposes an undue constraint
on the ability of some foreigners, including those who have been granted
residence permit on humanitarian grounds, to be reunited with their
closest family.
The Committee is
concerned that Norway is a destination for trafficking in women for
the purpose of sexual exploitation.
The Committee notes
with concern the increasing number of evictions carried out in the State
party, especially in Oslo, mainly as a consequence of unpaid rent. The
Committee is also concerned that the disadvantaged and marginalized
groups in society are particularly affected by the privatization of
municipal social housing and rising housing prices. Despite the assistance
provided through the State Housing Bank, the Committee is particularly
concerned that the number of social housing units for low-income individuals
and families is far from adequate. It regrets in this regard the lack
of information on the number of people living in illegal settlements
and whether they are liable to forced evictions and the number of persons
on waiting lists for municipal social housing.
The Committee notes
with concern that an estimated 5,200 people are homeless in the State
party. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned that rejected asylum-seekers
who cannot be sent home to their countries of origin are not offered
accommodation in reception centres after the deadline set for departure.
The Committee is
concerned about information received that many asylum-seeking children
who suffer from trauma and illness are not afforded adequate assistance.
The Committee is
concerned about the high incidence of eating disorders among adolescents
in the State party and about the high incidence of suicide among adolescent
boys aged 15-19.
The Committee is
concerned about the restrictions placed on the access to education of
asylum seekers, as asylum-seeking children only have access to free
primary and lower secondary education and asylum seekers over the age
of 18 are not offered courses in Norwegian.
E. Suggestions
and recommendations
In
the light of the Supreme Court ruling in the “KLR case” (Supreme Court
Reports 2001, p. 1006), which states that international treaties that
have been incorporated into national legislation can only be directly
applied when it is possible to derive concrete rights and duties from
their provisions, the Committee reaffirms the principle of the interdependence
and indivisibility of all human rights and that all economic, social
and cultural rights are justiciable and urges the State party to ensure
that all the provisions of the Covenant are given effect to by its domestic
courts. In this regard, the Committee refers the State party to its
General Comment No. 9 on domestic application of the Covenant.
The Committee recommends
that the State party pursues efforts to ensure the full independence
of the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights as a national human rights
institution in compliance with the Paris Principles.1
The Committee requests
the State party to provide in its next periodic report disaggregated
information on its official development assistance, indicating funds
allocated to different sectors in the areas of economic, social and
cultural rights. Information is also sought on measures taken by the
State party to ensure compliance with Covenant obligations in its international
development cooperation.
The Committee urges
the State party to ensure that the Finnmark Act, which is currently
being considered by Parliament, give due regard to the rights of the
Sami people to participate in the management and control of natural
resources in the county of Finnmark. The Committee requests the State
party to provide in its next periodic report updated information about
the implementation of the Finnmark Act and the extent to which the opinions
of representatives of the Sami people have been taken into consideration.
The Committee recommends
that the State party strengthen measures to combat discrimination against
persons with immigrant background and ensure the effective monitoring
of anti-discrimination legislation.
The Committee encourages
the State party to continue and strengthen its measures to overcome
the obstacles faced by persons with immigrant background, in particular
women, in accessing the labour market.
The Committee encourages
the State party to ratify the International Convention on the Protection
of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families.
The Committee encourages
the State party to continue and strengthen its efforts to ensure that
women and men have equal access to the labour market and receive equal
pay for work of equal value. In particular, the State party should take
measures to encourage women to choose occupations and professions which
are traditionally held by men and are better remunerated.
The Committee encourages
the State party to strengthen its efforts to ensure safe working conditions
for workers in the fishing and off-shore petroleum industries.
The Committee requests
the State party to address the situation of children who are removed
from their families and placed in institutions or foster homes and to
take measures to identify and address the underlying causes. In this
regard, the Committee recommends that the State party undertakes periodic
comprehensive reviews for children placed in institutions or foster
homes and strengthen its efforts to provide parents with the necessary
assistance and support to enable them to exercise their parental role
and responsibilities in the upbringing and education of their children.
The Committee requests the State party to provide in its next periodic
report disaggregated data on an annual basis on the number and ethnic
origin of children placed in institutions or foster homes, the average
period of placement, the reasons for such placement, and measures taken
to reunite children with their biological parents.
The
Committee urges the State party to give priority to ensuring the availability
of a sufficient number of places in kindergartens, particularly in densely
populated urban areas.
The Committee urges
the State party to continue and strengthen social, psychological and
legal measures taken within the framework of the Action Plan to Combat
Violence against Women (2004-2007) and to consider adopting specific
legislation on domestic violence. The Committee requests the State party
to provide information on progress made in its next periodic report.
The Committee encourages
the State party to consider easing restrictions on family reunification
in order to ensure the widest possible protection of, and assistance
to, the family.
The Committee urges
the State party to continue and strengthen its efforts to address the
problems of trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation,
and requests that the State party provides in its next periodic report
detailed information on progress achieved and difficulties encountered
in the implementation of the second National Plan of Action to combat
trafficking in women, which is due to be adopted in June 2005.
The Committee urges
the State party to ensure that evictions of tenants who cannot pay their
rents and of squatters comply with the guidelines established by the
Committee in its General Comment No. 7 (1997) on the right to adequate
housing (article 11, paragraph 1, of the Covenant). Furthermore, the
State party should take effective measures, in line with the Committee’s
General Comment No. 4 (1991) on the right to adequate housing (article
11, paragraph 1, of the Covenant), to provide in sufficient numbers
housing units to cater for the needs of low-income families and the disadvantaged
and marginalized groups. The Committee requests the State party to provide,
in its next report, disaggregated data on the number of persons on waiting
lists for municipal social housing and information on progress made
to improve the overall housing situation.
The Committee urges
the State party to strengthen measures to deal with the problem of homelessness
and to ensure that rejected asylum seekers who cannot be sent home to
their countries of origin be offered alternative accommodation.
The Committee encourages
the State party to adopt effective measures to address the underlying
causes of regional disparities in health indicators.
The Committee urges
the State party to strengthen measures taken to ensure adequate health
and psychiatric services for asylum-seeking children.
The Committee recommends
that the State party continues and strengthens measures taken to implement
the coherent strategy developed in 2000 against eating disorders and
also ensures adequate follow-up on the Plan of Action against Suicide.
The Committee recommends
that the State party ensures that every decision to detain a person
with mental disorder for compulsory psychiatric treatment be reviewed
promptly by an independent judicial body.
The Committee encourages
the State party to ensure that asylum seekers are not restricted in
their access to education while their claim for asylum is being processed.
The Committee requests
the State party to disseminate its concluding observations widely among
all levels of society, including State officials and the judiciary,
and to inform the Committee on steps taken to implement them in its
next periodic report. It also encourages the State party to continue
to consult with non-governmental organizations and other members of
civil society in the preparation of its fifth periodic report.
The Committee requests
the State party to submit its fifth periodic report by 30 June 2010.